According to Get French Football News, Ismael Bennacer is heading to Tours on loan for the rest of the season.
Breaking | Arsenal attacker Ismaël Bennacer is currently undergoing a medical with Tours ahead of a short-term loan deal. (Téléfoot)
— Get French Football (@GFFN) January 30, 2017
The 19 year old was a surprise call up for the Algeria side for the African Cup of Nations, but didn’t play during the tournament.
Last week, Arsene Wenger touched on some of the qualities he feels the midfielder possesses, saying, “He’s a player who is not spectacular, but a very efficient player. He’s the kind of player who, once you put him in the team, you don’t take him out anymore.
“He can defend very well, he’s a fighter, a left-footed player and very efficient going forward. He’s a real box-to-box player. He can do all kinds of jobs.
“He is still young, still lacks a little bit of experience, but is a very promising player.”
Having ruled out any arrivals on deadline day, it looks as if the only action will be some loan moves for players who need playing time.
Bennacer, who has made 23 appearances for the U23s this season, is one of them. It’s also believed Chuba Akpom could go to Brighton until the end of the season.
It now seems unlikely that Carl Jenkinson will agree terms with Crystal Palace, and while the manager is open to Mathieu Debuchy going there haven’t been any offers for the French international as yet.
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Thanks to @AFCfreddie8 for the heads-up.
Good luck to him, sounds like he has a chance to step up.
I wish Ishmael all the best.
All the best to him. Looks tidy for the U23s. Hopefully he’ll have more joy than most of our loans, a system which i don’t think we’ve mastered. Our loans out seem to prepare our players for journeyman careers in the lower leagues. This transfer window alone sees former hot prospects Simpson, Ajayi, Freeman continue their careers even further from the nest. An art we should look to conquer
The logic with sending players to Ligue 2 or Eerstedivisie (sp.) or League 2 is to ensure they get regular playing time. Maybe they won’t get to play as much as Arsenal would like with a Championship team chasing promotion, or a side from the big five leagues. Having said that, and as much as I hate to say this, we could do with an ‘arrangement’ like Chelsea have with Vitesse in the Eredivisie, where we send them on season-long loans playing against the likes of Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord.
hard to see him cracking our midfield rotation when the manager says this – “He’s a player who is not spectacular, but a very efficient player.” But then again we let Flamini start for a year so…
Can understand Debuchy’s frustration that Wenger did not allow him to go to Man U last year. Offers do not come in for him anymore. Not sure Mourinho would have kept him though.